Construction firm BAM has said it rejects incorrect allegations made at the Oireachtas Committee on Health by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board.
The company said it is only looking for the money to which it is properly entitled for work done under the contract.
It claimed that many of the issues currently being faced are due to the lack of a final hospital design by the development board in 2019.
BAM said it is engaged in the process of works needed to correct thousands of design errors identified by the NPHDB design team in January after a compliance audit.
It said these errors require the removal and relocation of thousands of ceiling-mounted services across the hospital, including smoke detectors, light sensors, CCTV cameras, emergency signage and sprinkler heads.
BAM also insisted that it has always fully resourced the project.
It said it will write today to the Minister for Health and the Taoiseach about these issues.
Earlier, the chief officer of the NPHDB David Gunning said that in his view "the hospital is the hostage" in ongoing negotiations with BAM regarding the National Children's Hospital project.
The Oireachtas Committee on Health was told that BAM has "shifted the substantial completion date" of the new National Children's Hospital project 14 times in just four years.
Mr Gunning said this situation has "shifted out the completion date by eight months".
He said BAM is currently of the view the project will be completed by June next year, which is 31 months later than what was last agreed.
"In the absence of of a written, contractually compliant, realistic and resource-located programme, the NPHDB cannot and will not simply accept BAM's ongoing deferral dates," he said.
He said a total of €1.478 billion, including VAT, has already been spent on the project.
Mr Gunning said that in February, the Government agreed to a capital budget for the hospital of €1.88bn.
He said he and colleagues have told BAM that it will be getting "not one penny more" of an increased cost to the project. Mr Gunning also told the committee that his group has asked BAM "when are we getting our children's hospital".
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Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Health David Cullinane said the blame game around the project continues.
He said he is "sick of the fiasco as well", adding he is sick of the delays, rising costs and the fact children still do not have access to care.
While questioning Mr Gunning at the committee, Mr Cullinane said the situation is like "Groundhog Day", adding he finds it "hard to explain" to people that more than 3,000 rooms have been provided by BAM but are considered by officials to not be adequate.
"It just strikes people as incredible that not one room is complete," he said.
Mr Gunning also told the committee that a 2019 independent review by PwC also identified "a number of risks" that could increase costs, including "contractor entitlements under the contract", "construction inflation" above 4%, and the contractor's "right to claim for additional true costs".
Mr Gunning said "BAM's continued failure to provide a compliant baseline programme and its shifting of dates is not acceptable to the NPHDB" and shows "a complete disregard for internationally recognised professional processes".
He said that BAM has offered rooms that are "still incomplete", has failed to manage the project's execution, and has in his view shown a continued "unwillingness to resource the project appropriately".
He said "as of today not one room has been fully completed".
The executive director of BAM UK and Ireland yesterday said the company was "keen" to get the hospital "finished as soon as possible for the children of Ireland".
BAM hit with 15% withholding notice due to non-compliance of deadline
Mr Gunning said there is "absolutely merit" in examining past performance when giving out State contracts, saying in the private sector it is "accepted that your performance is your dance ticket".
He said his "big learning point" from the children's hospital project is that "if you don't perform" then in his view "you don't get to bid" for project tenders in the future.
Mr Gunning told Fianna Fail TD John Lahart that he understands that EU procurement rules mean that a firm cannot be prevented from seeking tenders in the future.
He confirmed that "two weeks ago" he held a "one-to-one" meeting with a senior BAM official, during which he told him "our key points are when are we getting the hospital, that's it, when are we getting the hospital".
During a later exchange, Mr Gunning said the project "should be working like a factory, spitting out rooms" and that everyone involved wants to turn "this building into a hospital".
Mr Gunning said the last programme that BAM submitted was "up to the end of July", and there is no programme now in place.
The contractor has been given a deadline, "and because of non-compliance that deadline, we've now issued 15% withholding notice," he said.
Board pressed on design revisions
At the meeting of the committee, Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall asked how many design revisions have been made.
Phelim Devine, project manager with the NPHDB, said that 6,000 drawings have been revised up to three times resulting in 23,300 drawings.
He said BAM and their sub-contractors issued around 25,5000 drawings adding that there were 469 change orders issued since January 2019
He said that a developer could claim costs on the updated drawings.
Ms Shortall said that Mr Devine was becoming pedantic in distinguishing between design changes and changes to drawings, as in all cases the contractor can submit claims.
Mr Devine said that there are 3,020 claims with 2,473 substantiated costing €862m.
Mr Gunning accepted that it is highly unlikely that the claims would be resolved by June of next year.
Asked if BAM is saying that it will have the hospital completed in June 2025, Mr Gunning replied: "That's what they're telling us. Exactly".
He added: "We do not have confidence" in what BAM is saying, as there is "no clarity and certainty on timeline".
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Mr Gunning also said that he "would be very reluctant to give the committee any assurance - or confidence - in the June 2025 timeline, in the absence of the information that we need to look in detail and do a critical analysis of".
"I can't give you that assurance - and BAM can't give us that assurance, until they give us the [compliant] programme."
The board's message to BAM is, "get the resources - get it finished," Mr Gunning said.
There has been "considerable engagement" exploring "alternative dispute resolution" approaches with BAM, he added.
Phelim Devine said that the employer's representative has concluded the estimated cost of the change orders is €31m versus a claim figure by BAM of €748m.
He noted that of the 469 change orders, not all are included in those figures, and that the more recent ones are for smaller amounts.
He said that the inspection team on site has increased from 15 to 25 personnel to make sure that "all the technical issues are picked up and the quality is right".
Additional reporting: Fiachra O'Cionnaith
